Under the Stars Tonight
by The American Ginny
Summary: "A shooting star! Make a wish Harry…" he whispered to himself.  "I wish I could just have one friend while I'm here…" Harry repeated over and over again squeezing his eyes closed tight.    Please avoid criticism on their age. I know it is unrealistic.


Harry sneaked out of the Dursley's house quietly around midnight. He was so sick of living there with them. They hated him with an undying passion, and as for why they even kept him around their house was beyond him. They didn't care about him. They didn't even care for him. To them he waste of air. He was not worthy of life itself.

Harry walked over out of their driveway letting his thoughts finally take control of him. He sat down on the curve in front of the hedge that separate the road from number six. He had lived at this house for the past 9 years. He didn't understand why his aunt and uncle put up with him when they hated him so much. He didn't know why they even bothered enough to even give him a closet for a room.

The Dursleys hated him so much that they gladly would've thrown him outside every night to sleep on the ground if the neighbors wouldn't most likely start talking about it which the Dursleys couldn't have unless it was about how nice of things they have. Why they just didn't ship Harry off to an orphanage? They always called him such a waste of space. Why didn't they just get rid of him?

Harry let out a quiet sigh. Why did he even have to be a live? His parents had died when he was 1, and he ended up at the Dursleys'. Why couldn't he have died with them? Why didn't he die in the crash too?

Harry was so sick of being treated like crap. All he wanted was a friend. A single friend.

Harry looked up at the star filled sky. He just wanted one person to love him. He just wanted to know what it was like to have someone care for you.

Harry laid back onto the sidewalk absorbing everything about the night. He had never had time to himself. This was a new concept to him. He began to loose himself in the beauty of the sky.

"A shooting star! Make a wish Harry…" he whispered to himself.

"I wish I could just have one friend while I'm here…" Harry repeated over and over again squeezing his eyes closed tight.

Harry let out a sigh and sat back up. This was ridiculous. Nothing like that would ever happen to the silly, little Harry Potter. He placed his head in his hands. He was always going to be alone. No matter how much he wished otherwise. This was crazy. No one cared about the little boy that lived with the Dursleys'. Not even God‒ if there even was one‒ cared about the little boy that lived in a world that he didn't belong in…

Harry's head shot up from his hands. A door slammed shut at the next house across the street. He froze. He wanted to run, but he couldn't seem to make his feet move. He was stuck sitting on the street corner.

Harry watched as a girl turned around on her porch and placed a boom box upon the ground beside the door. She was beautiful from what he could see. She wasn't the tallest, but she definitely wasn't the shortest either. She was a good height. Her hair was brown and fairly bushy, and it fell down to her shoulders. She was very thin and gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful.

She stepped away from the boom box and turned around heading towards her cement drive way. She wore a silky grey dress that just skimmed the surface of the ground. It fit every curve of her body perfectly. The dress snuggling every curve of her body just right. The silk moved with a nice smooth flow with every movement of her muscles. It was perfect for her.

She reached the middle of her drive way and stopped. The girl pointed a remote at the boom box and pressed a button. She slid the remote towards the edge of the drive and stood straight up.

The music began to play, and the girl bowed to her invisible partner. She placed her hand on her partner's shoulder holding her elbow up at the perfect angle and held his other hand. She was ready to waltz. Slowly she began to move smoothly and swiftly across the drive way.

"Wow she's beautiful." Harry thought to himself.

He wanted to meet her. He wanted to get to know her better. She was graceful. She was talented. She was beautiful. He desired with all his heart to know her better.

Harry stood up and slowly made his way towards the girl watching her all the while. She was absolutely amazing. She was such an excellent dancer. He couldn't help but watch her as he walked across the street towards her.

Harry had never known what love was for sure, but he knew that this was a new perspective for him. He was terrified, and yet he was curious. He wanted to know about her and everything she did. He wanted to be her friend.

He cautiously stepped up onto her drive, trying not to scare her. His breath caught in his throat, and his stomach began doing flips. He was nervous. This would be the first girl he would actually get to talk to that wasn't his aunt. Harry was excited at the opportunity to have a new friend, but he was also nervous at the thought of her running away scared of him.

He was never taught much about love, but one of the few things that he had learned from his aunt's mockery of his mother's love was that there is no fear in love. You don't have to fear if you truly love someone. You'll accept whatever they throw your way. That's what he was going to do too.

Harry took a deep breath and closed the gap between him and the girl. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention from her invisible partner.

The girl froze a little in fear of what or who lay behind her, but she slowly turned around to face Harry. He bowed to her and offered his hand. She respond with a curtsy and placed her hand in his.

Harry smiled. This felt good. It felt like home almost. It felt like he had spent years trying to find this, and now that he found it, he was relieved.

Harry placed his hand on her waist and slowly began to guide her around the drive. He took in the warmth of her brown eyes. They were so warm and comforting. It was almost as if she could read him and his thoughts.

He blushed at the thought of her reading his thoughts. Those were probably best for him alone to know. She was really beautiful, and Harry was having a hard time focusing on the dance when he wanted to focus on everything about her.

The girl was the first to break the silence, "Hello, my name is Hermione Granger. I love to come out here and dance alone. I like this better though. I like having an actual partner that I can see."

Harry smiled at the girl. She was so sweet. He introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Harry Potter. I live with my aunt and uncle because my parents died when I was 1. I like dancing with you too. I don't really dance, but this is nice."

Hermione laughed and said, "Well I think you're a brilliant dancer. I would love to dance with you more often. Can we do this more often?"

Harry smiled and thought, "Am I making a friend?"

"On two conditions, Hermione."

Hermione looked skeptically at him but said, "What's the first condition?"

Harry stopped dancing and pulled away. He was a little timid about this. He wasn't use to asking people to be friends. "Well I was…I just… I wanted…"

Harry couldn't seem to control his nerves enough to get the words out. Hermione picked up on it soon enough and slid her hand into his. She smiled at him encouraging him to continue.

Harry found a new peace and courage inside of him and said, "Well I wanted to know if you would be my friend? I've never had a friend before. My cousin beats anyone who tries, but he wouldn't know about you. Will you be my friend?"

Hermione smiled and said, "No, Harry."

Harry's face dropped from the smile that had just been there. He didn't feel so courageous anymore. He felt like a fool. He had been dumb enough to think that she would be his friend.

Hermione gave him a hug and whispered into his ear, "I'll be your best friend."

Harry smiled bigger than he had ever thought possible. He was so happy. He had not just got a friend today. He had got his BEST friend today. Harry hugged her back and said, "Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione pulled away from his body, but she didn't bother removing her arms from around him. She smiled and replied, "You're welcome, Harry. Now what was your second condition?"

Harry smiled and hugged her close again whispering in her ear, "Allow me to kiss you."

Hermione secretly smiled. That she could live with, but she had to know something first.

She pushed harry away and said, "What if I don't want to kiss you?"

Harry was slowly loosing courage but said anyways, "Well you don't get me to dance with you every night."

Hermione sat there contemplating the deal. She did want to dance with Harry again. She definitely wanted the kiss too, but she didn't just want it to mean nothing. It was her first kiss. She couldn't just give it away for a one night friendship. It was like a one night stand for 11 year olds. It was a big deal.

Hermione looked at Harry and said, "On one condition."

Harry's stomach dropped. What if he couldn't full fill her condition? What if he had to run away because of it? (He didn't find this an entirely bad idea due to the fact that he would never have to worry about the Dursley's again.) What if he had to leave her here alone having gotten both their hopes up? What if Harry fail?

Harry looked nervously around and took a deep breath. He needed to face this before he made up these crazy stories. Harry swallowed hard and then said, "What's the condition?"

Hermione smiled. She had him. She was sure of it, "You have to want me as your girlfriend until we find someone else if we ever do."

Harry smiled. He could do that. He could handle that. Harry nodded. He bowed again and pulled her close.

Harry gave her a hug and looked down at her. She was barely shorter than him, but they would grow more in the next few years. This would completely work out for him.

Harry forced Hermione to look up at him and slowly leaned it. He was kind of nervous. It was both of their first kisses. They didn't know what to expect or think. They were willing to try though.

Harry tenderly placed his lips on hers and pushed her a little closer. This was nice. This was different, but it was good change.

Harry pulled away and smiled at Hermione. This would definitely work. He hugged her close to him taking in her fragrance of parchment, raspberries, and rain. He didn't know if he would marry Hermione, but he definitely knew this would work out for a while.

Harry pulled away and bowed to Hermione. He watched her curtsy and pulled her in to waltz again. Tonight was the best day of his life. He would never forget it. For in one night, he had gained a friend, his BEST friend, and a girlfriend. Was it pure, romantic love for each other? He didn't know, but he did love her…


End file.
